Comic-Con: Episode IV – A Fan’s Hope

13 September 2011No Comment

If you could describe any movie as the “Geek Feel-Good Movie of the Year” this would be it. I’m reviewing this one, fresh off the heals of having been to FanExpo 2011 (aka Canadian Comic-Con Lite). Where, yes, I cosplayed as a character from an episode of Doctor Who written by world renowned graphic novel author Neil Gaiman.
So I’m not subjective. I’m a geek. These are my people.

The sense of community and acceptance, fun, excitement and overall revelry that an event like Comic-Con brings is something I’m delighted that Morgan Spurlock and the countless other nerd celebrities (Kevin Smith, Matt Groaning, Joss Wheaton, Stan Lee, Guillermo del Toro, Seth Rogan, Seth Green, Eli Roth… I could go on, literally for about an hour – there’s a tonne of celebrity interviews) brought to the big screen. If nothing else, as an excuse for people who enjoy Comic-Con, Comic Books, Genre Films, Sci-Fi, Superheros and Video Games to celebrate their love, and their annual celebration of their fandom.

The film follows a few different regular, every day attendees, as they visit The Con for different reasons. Artists, Dealers, Cosplayers and Collectors. Intermingled with their story is an overall arc of describing the event to the outsider, and simply offering an explanation on why this event is so huge. A few people mention, quite a bit, that Comic-Con is very simply now a Pop Culture Fest – a Studio-branded advertisement for anything and everything that may have an intense fan following. It’s really not about Comics anymore. I think they’re absolutly correct, but I think they’re missing a larger point.

I’m going to take my personal experience here for a moment to describe exactly what’s happening. In 1997, in high school, the lovley Angelina introduced me to a very small, gathering called Anime North. I didn’t really like Anime that much, but I knew about Sailor Moon, and I really liked dressing up. I borrowed a Sailor Mercury costume and went. It was fun. I kept going, and it kept getting bigger, a few years later I made my own costume, the main character from obscure Anime, Mah? Tsukai Tai!. It was great. I won an award! My tastes changed, and I lost what little interest I already had in Anime. Over the years my tastes grew, I started liking Star Trek, and Zombie Movies, retro Video Games and Lord of the Rings. While seemingly different, these interests instinctively go together. And I found FanExpo (and if I were American, I would have found Comic-Con).

Like FanExpo Canada, San Diego Comic-Con is an amalgamation of what used to be separate cons, Anime, Sci-Fi, Comic and Gaming. A celebration of all things geek. While the die-hard Comic Fans may lament, this is a glorious and fun event celebrated by geeks of all sort. It offers something for everyone, and it’s a party. Steampunk, Zombie, Furry, Goth – whatever your identity, you’ll be included.

ChantelleJoy @ TIFF2011

Welcome to the Archive of my Blog for the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.